fire the starting gun

Definitions

To launch or trigger an event or situation.

idiomatic, often

Examples

“The TV and radio star Noel Edmonds, who is expected to join⟳ ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get⟳ Me Out Of Here jungle camp this week, is also likely to fire the starting gun on a £60m lawsuit against Lloyds Bank.”

“Halks-Miller’s discovery fired the starting gun on the race⟳ to develop⟳ a diagnostic blood test⟳. Illumina spun off a new company, Grail, to develop⟳ the test⟳, raising more than $2bn from investors including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and the Chinese company Tencent.”

CEFR level